


Moving On

by Arctic_comet



Series: Jancy S3 fics, canon-compliant/missing scenes [6]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Future Fic, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2020-06-25 18:34:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19751437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arctic_comet/pseuds/Arctic_comet
Summary: In late 1986 it’s moving day again for Jonathan.





	Moving On

“What’s that?” Asked his mother, peering at the photos in Jonathan's lap over his shoulder.

”It’s Nancy’s new place in Indianapolis.” Nancy had just moved in after landing a job at a newspaper, and he felt... Maybe weird was the right word to use. Like she was moving onto the next phase of her life and he was still stuck in Missouri. He immediately stopped that train of thought from going any further. He wasn't _stuck,_ but looking after his family. 

”It’s cute.”

He shrugged, attempting to mask his emotions from his mom. “I guess it is.”

“Did she ask you to move in with her?”

Jonathan swallowed. Straight to the point, as usual. “Yeah,” he admitted, sighing. “She did, but-“

”You told her no?”

”I told her I'd have to think about it, but I should stay with you guys.”

”You’re about to be 19 years old, Jonathan. We’re going to be fine with Hopper. And Indianapolis is less than two hours away from Hawkins.”

“ _Hawkins?_ ”

”We’re going back. Hop’s found us a house. I haven’t told the others yet.”

”Really? Will and El are gonna to be so excited.”

”Yeah, they will.”

”But are you sure about this, Mom? I mean, you’re the only one who insisted-“

Joyce held up a hand, interrupting him.

”I know, I know. I... I made a mistake in believing that bad things could only happen to us in Hawkins, that I could really leave those memories behind. I know things have been hard for you all since we left, and I’m sorry. I took the people who understood you away from all of you, and you’ve barely had any privacy since we moved. All you’ve done is go to school and work. I want more for you.”

He’d finished high school, but college was an impossible feat financially, at least for now. Or it had been until a couple of months ago, when another crazy week had revealed that Hopper was indeed alive after all, and since then the guy had been more or less staying with them. 

“You need something of your own, Jonathan. How do you expect me to live with myself knowing you gave up having your own life because of us? Go with Nancy, take college classes, chase your dreams, do whatever it is that you want," she continued, emphasizing her point by placing the apartment photos back into his hands.

"How long have you known that you'd want to go back to Hawkins?" He asked instead, finding his mother's change of heart both welcome and somewhat unnerving.

She shook her head, turning her eyes to the ceiling while a wan smile danced on her lips.

"It started a few months after we came here, when it became more difficult with El and Will."

Jonathan nodded, wincing at the memories. A bitter and angry hormonal teenager wasn't good news, and it was even worse when they were two, one of whom had special powers, even if they were still weak. 

A 14-year-old Jonathan Byers wouldn’t have cried over leaving Hawkins. He would’ve only worried about how his brother would fare without his friends. At seventeen he'd had to give everything he could not to cry in the car, as Will had, and as he was certain El had done in the truck with his mother. 

Giving up the house he’d grown up in hadn’t been easy, but he had his family, and it wasn’t like he'd had to give up the good memories they’d made in that house. They would follow him forever no matter where life took him. No, leaving Hawkins hadn’t been difficult because of the material things, but because he’d found something he didn’t want to give up. _Nancy._

Will would tell him that she was his only friend, which he guessed was technically true if you didn’t count him and now El, but Jonathan didn’t mind. However, he did mind being away from her, he always had. If it hadn’t been for Will’s and El’s angry and tear-filled outbursts, he would’ve lashed out at his mom himself when she announced the news. As things stood, he'd taken on the role of the eldest and made his opinion known in a calmer way with fewer profanities than the younger teens, not that any of that had mattered in the end.

"But I don't know if I'd be doing it even now if it wasn't for Hopper," she finished.

"I didn't think you'd ever want to go back."

"Things change, Jonathan, you know that. Sometimes it's for the better."

"Are you sure you're not advocating for me to move because of Hop-" He started, knowing that his own behavior around the man hadn't exactly been stellar. Ever since Hopper had returned to their lives, he’d felt less welcome in the apartment. Deep down Jonathan knew he was a good guy and he'd proven himself time and time again, but he was also demanding, and at times aggressive. His mother said they’d all get used to each other as more time passed, and that Hop was traumatized too. More than once in the last two months Jonathan had had to walk out of the house to stop himself from instigating a fight with the man. Too many memories of another bully plagued him, soothed usually by a call made to Nancy from a pay phone.

"Jesus, Jonathan, no! I know it's been an adjustment for you, but I'd never throw you out because of a man. I'm going to cry when you leave, but I'm going to push you out of the nest because sometimes you don't know what's good for you. So, are you going to tell Nancy yourself or do I have to tell her next time she calls?" She teased.

Rolling his eyes, he threw an arm around his mother's shoulders. "I'll tell her myself. I'll miss you guys, though."

"And we'll miss you, but it's time."

"I know."

The last fourteen months had been a roller coaster where he'd gone from dreaming he'd one day have a life that could include seeing Nancy daily, from wondering why he hadn't told her right from the start that they were better off not being together. It was never about lack of love between them, and somehow he believed it never would be, but real life _sucked,_ and he felt as if it was up to him to keep their feet on the ground as far as it came to their relationship. _Don't make promises you can't keep._ And yet despite all this, they'd somehow made it to this point, which he suspected was mostly due to Nancy's stubbornness. _God_ , he loved that about her. 

***

After the talk with his mom, Jonathan sat down and put it all on paper to check that he could really afford to move. Getting a job in town would not be easy without being able to drive there for interviews, and right now that wasn’t a possibility. So he’d have to use his savings for a while after the move.  Eventually it all added up in a way that gave him a bit of time to find a job, and still be able to pay rent, electricity and groceries. 

In another time and place he wouldn’t risk it, but the thought of more freedom as well as that of Nancy’s permanent presence were like a drug to him. Maybe he would get used to Hopper better from a distance.

The phone rang at 8:30 PM sharp, and nobody rushed to answer it. This was _his_ designated half hour on the phone. Thirty minutes may have seemed like a lot to most people, but Jonathan had come to learn that it was never enough.

"Hey," he greeted, before realizing that there was a small chance the caller was _not_ his girlfriend. _Idiot._

"Hi. Is something wrong?" She asked, and he could hear the frown in her voice. 

"No, not at all. Really."

"You sound nervous. Is it about- about what I asked?"

Hell, he might as well get it out of his chest because he was both more excited and more scared than ever before in his life.

"I want to live with you," he blurted out. The small squeal Nancy let out on the other end made him want to look for his car keys and drive straight to her. 

"Please don't tell me there's a but coming, Jonathan?"

”There isn’t, not really anyway. I just wonder if you’ll get sick of seeing me every day,” he replied, the concern not entirely a joke.

”No way. That’s never going to happen,” she sighed.

"It's just been a long time, that's all."

"It's been _too_ long. How long until you can move?"

"I was thinking of doing it over the holidays, actually."

"Sounds good."

"There's something else, too."

"What?"

"Mom and Hopper are moving back to Hawkins with Will and El."

Nancy's gasp was audible.

"Wow. I didn't think she'd-"

"Me neither. But I'm glad it's happening."

"Mike's going to freak."

He chuckled. "So will El and Will."

"I wish you were here now."

"Me too, but I will be, soon."

"Two weeks. We can take this for another two weeks, can't we?"

"Definitely."

"I love you."

"I love you too, Nancy."

"I wasn't sure if you'd agree to move in with me, to be honest."

"I always wanted to, but..."

"Your family."

"Yeah. Mom and I had a talk, and she pretty much told me she's making me leave," he laughed.

"That's good, and you know I agree with her."

"I do. Do you know what else I know?"

"That I look forward to be driven to the brink of insanity by you leaving the toilet seat up?"

He snickered. "Well, that too, but I was going to say that I need to start looking for a job in Indianapolis."

"Hmmm... I think you know someone who might be able to help you."

"Is that so?"

"We're hiring photographers."

"In that case, that's going to be the first place I call."

"You should list me as your reference. I could write a very convincing letter of recommendation for you... _Aside from being a fantastic photographer with a good eye for compositions and angles, Jonathan is extremely qualified at keeping a girl warm at night. His other talents include, but are not limited to, cooking and_ -"

"My turn." El's voice on the line startled Nancy into silence just in time. This was another reason he was glad to be moving out. Sexual innuendo over the phone was hard to realize when younger siblings in the house.

"Sure El, I'll be done in a minute," he said. "Nancy, talk to you tomorrow?"

"As always. Good night."

"Good night."

***

“You only have like five boxes,” gasped Nancy as she opened the back door of Jonathan’s car.

”Shouldn’t that make you happy? It means you’re free to hog most of the space,” he joked.

”That’s a good point, but what happened to all the stuff you took with you when you left Hawkins?” 

With a shrug of his shoulders, he handed Nancy a box and grabbed one himself. 

“You know I didn’t have a lot of space, so I went through everything a few times and threw most of that stuff out. At the end of the day, that’s exactly what it was. Stuff. I’ve got all I need right here,” he replied, hoping she’d get his point. 

“When did you become such a sweet talker?” She asked with a smile, narrowing her eyes.

”Since I had to spend more than a year without you for the most part,” he answered, growing serious. If he was being perfectly honest with himself, he was sort of nervous about this. They could drive each other crazy. Maybe they wouldn’t be able to adjust to seeing each other all the time again.

”Now, there’s the Jonathan I know. The worrier. What is it?”

”I want this to work out.” He said.

”Me too, of course. You have no idea how happy I am that you agreed to move here,” she replied, her expression turning from playful to serious. It was too bad that he had a box full of records in his arms, because otherwise he would’ve kissed her right then and there.

”I think this is the best chance we’re going to get at it,” he said instead.

”So let’s make it count.”

The apartment was on the 3rd floor and since there was no elevator, they marched up and down the stairs a couple of times before Nancy finally threw her keys on the nearest table while he shut the door behind them. 

As she poured them both a glass of water, Jonathan stopped to look around the place. Nancy had done a good job. Everything was in place. Except for his clothes and records, all of them still in the boxes m.

”What do you think?” She asked, wrapping her arms around him from behind. Just like on that final day in Hawkins, he grasped her hands and brought her to face him.

”I love it. It reminds me of you.”

”We’re going to make it about you, too. Go and have a look at the drawers and the closet.”

Right there, beside Nancy’s clothes, was space, waiting to be filled. On top of the desk set in front of one of the windows was a vacant spot.

“Is that for me too?” He asked.

”Yup. You’re going to need a place to put your record player, right?”

”Right.”

”Now, I think we need to celebrate the occasion,” she suggested, a key hanging from her fingers. 

Grinning, he stepped to her, his arms sneaking around her waist. “How do you think we should do that?”

Nancy’s lips closed over his, but right before any contact was made, she brought the key between them and placed it somewhere under her sweater. He groaned, but couldn’t stop himself from laughing.

”You should search me,” she told him, her mouth finally on his fully. He didn’t have to be asked twice, so he picked her up to place her on the bed located only a few steps away. _Their bed._

All the anger, sadness and loneliness accumulated over the last fourteen months began washing out of him. Healing, that’s what his mom said she’d needed to to as she’d told him they’d be leaving Hawkins. Now it was his turn to heal. 


End file.
